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Fashion’s new mood is all about individuality, but in a sprawling department store, where do you pluck out the truly unique, unconventional pieces that no one else will have? It’s a tall order—until you stumble upon a rack of Alix of Bohemia jackets.

A love of textiles, travel, and one-of-a-kind clothing inspired Alix Verley-Pietrafesa to start sewing her own jackets as a college student in Scotland. Throughout a career in contemporary art—which found her living in Asia and traveling to Istanbul, France, Bali, Japan, and beyond—that hobby steadily grew into a business. “I made myself a jacket when I was living in London, and people just went crazy over it,” she explains. The self-described “gypsy tailor” has been designing for private clients and hosting trunk shows ever since, but she spent the past nine months expanding her reach here in New York. That doesn’t mean she’s switched to a traditional retail model; she still designs rolling collections in line with the seasons, but she simply can’t hand-stitch hundreds of them in her East Village apartment. It’s “slow fashion” at its best, and the fact that Barneys New York, Bergdorf Goodman, and Moda Operandi are willing to work with her time line speaks to the jackets’ singular popularity.

I discovered Alix of Bohemia through one of those Instagram rabbit holes—when one profile leads to another and you can’t figure out how you got to someone’s page. As a 20-something who loves statement jackets, textiles, and anything with far-flung details, I was hooked. But the upscale ladies who frequent Bergdorf’s are scooping up Verley-Pietrafesa’s jackets, too. “My oldest client is 97 and my youngest is probably 15,” says the designer. The secret might be in the silhouette: Most of the jackets are hip length and a little boxy, and have clean, classic lines, so any woman can pull off even the boldest styles. And while I’d advocate for throwing one over a T-shirt and jeans, the possibilities are endless: “My European clients wear them in a very formal way, and New York girls wear them with ripped jeans and fabulous shoes, or over a gown at the opera,” says Verley-Pietrafesa. “It’s great because you never see yourself coming and going! When you invest in something and then see someone else wearing it, it totally devalues it.”

alix of bohemiaPhoto: Courtesy of Alix of Bohemia / @alix_of_bohemia

Each jacket is like a work of art, and they’re assembled as such. “I lay them out and compose them like a painting,” Verley-Pietrafesa says. “I don’t really plan before I sew.” With cutout flowers from vintage quilts, appliqués, and material from all over the world, most jackets are a study in contrast. She pointed out a cherry red jacket that combined Bulgarian embroidery with Mexican textiles. Another had plush, cream-color faux fur dotted with Afghan coins, while a third merged pieces from an Indian tablecloth with an Afghan blanket and emerald green Kenyan lining. “They all have a little story,” she says. “Sometimes I have a hard time parting with the fabrics I’ve collected, but at the end of the day, you can’t be too precious about it. It’s movement; it’s keeping the story going. I like to see them go to a good home.”

That home could be yours if you shop Moda Operandi’s trunk show next Tuesday, November 17. Verley-Pietrafesa has created a brand-new collection for MO that includes glitzy evening jackets, winter-ready faux furs, and the colorful collages she’s known for. Each jacket is priced around $700 to $2,000, but considering you’ll be the only one in New York—and the whole world—who has it, we think it’s a justified splurge.